


You Are Ours Now

by syriala



Series: Stalion Week 2018 [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cuddling & Snuggling, Derek Hale is a Bad Alpha, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Found Family, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Scent Marking, Scott is a Bad Friend, Spark Stiles Stilinski, broken pack bonds, but Deucalion is still a good alpha, past Deucalion/Peter Hale, pre-Deucalion/Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-26 22:42:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15011015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syriala/pseuds/syriala
Summary: Stiles was still reeling from the fact that Derek had kicked him out of the pack and discovering his magic when suddenly another alpha and his pack stepped in to take care of him.





	You Are Ours Now

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Keep Him Safe](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14594052) by [syriala](https://archiveofourown.org/users/syriala/pseuds/syriala). 



> This is for Stalion Appreciation Week Day 6, and the prompt for the day was 'Stiles joins the Alpha Pack'. 
> 
> It was supposed to be 4k, and then Peter entered the scene, and from then on the plot was simply lost. Also, how many times can Deucalion use an endearment on Stiles? All the times!
> 
> This is technically a continuation of Keep Him Safe, a lot of people asked for that, but I guess none of them expected it to turn out Stalion and pre-Stetercalion, so SURPRISE!

Stiles wasn’t quite stupid enough to go out after dark. He knew better than to roam through the woods at that time; Stiles had experienced first hand what horrible things lurked in the dark after all and so he made sure to always leave before dusk.

But he couldn’t stop going out altogether.

His magic was still a new thing, unpredictable and destructive at times, and Stiles wouldn’t put more worries on his dad by exploding half of the house, again.

Still, he glanced around nervously, because Derek had spoken of a new threat and then went on and left him defenseless by kicking him out of the pack, and it had made Stiles weary.

So far nothing had happened though, and Stiles was inclined to continue like this. He got better with his magic the longer he spent outside after all, and he liked to believe that he maybe could defend himself now.

He didn’t need Derek or anyone else to act like he was still the same fragile human he had been when this whole supernatural mess started.

Too much had happened since then.

No one had protected him from Gerard, and he had survived that just fine. He would survive whatever the hell was aiming for Derek and his pack now, too.

At least that was what Stiles kept telling himself when the woods around him bustled and twigs broke.

It was a lot more intimidating than Stiles was comfortable with.

He was on high alert, always nowadays, painfully aware of the fact that he was vulnerable despite his magic and didn’t know what was going on, and while it tired him out, it was also the only reason he saw the woman as soon as she stepped into the clearing.

“You stop right there,” Stiles immediately called out, warily taking a step back.

The woman, to her credit, did stop, but she regarded Stiles like he was a very strange sight.

Stiles almost scoffed at that, because he certainly wasn’t the one to walk around barefoot here.

When he saw the black claws on her toes, he was glad he had suppressed his initial reaction of throwing a fireball at her. Antagonizing a werewolf never worked out well.

“Where’s your pack, little witch?” the woman asked him and Stiles squared his shoulders.

He would totally take offense at that title, if he actually knew that it was supposed to be derogatory. Researching magic was even more difficult than researching werewolves and it hadn’t given him any satisfactory results.

He still knew nothing about his magic. Everything he had tried here, in the woods, was guesswork.

“A shy one,” the woman startled him out of his thoughts and when Stiles realized she had come closer, Stiles stumbled back.

“Who are you?” Stiles asked, desperately trying to keep his distance. “What do you want?”

“I’m not here to scare you,” the woman said and came to a stop.

When Stiles threw her an unbelievable look, she raised her hands to show that they were empty, and then sat down, legs crossed, and she seemed as relaxed as one could be.

“If you think that makes me feel safer, you’re mistaken. I know you’re a werewolf. You can run over here in less than three seconds and tear my throat out.”

 _With your teeth_ , he wanted to add, but when he thought back to when Derek had said it to him, the words died in his throat.

It was stupid, but it still hurt that Derek rejected him so completely.

“You’re hurt,” the woman noted, head tilted slightly to the side and Stiles could see her nostrils flare.

“Where is your pack, pup?”

“Don’t call me that,” Stiles objected.

“What’s your name then?” she asked.

“Really? You didn’t even tell me your name.”

“It’s Kali,” she told him.

“Like the goddess of destruction and power?” Stiles blurted out and Kali smiled.

“And of time and creation, yes,” Kali gave back. “Now, what’s your name?”

“This is not a quid pro quo situation, lady,” Stiles told her.

“Is it not?” she wanted to know, and Stiles felt vaguely threatened.

“Are you gonna make it a situation like that?” Stiles questioned, and Kali sighed.

“No, I’m not. I’m not here to threaten you. I just want to know where your pack is.”

“Are you threatening,” _my pack_ , “them?”

“I’m interested in you, not them,” Kali said, and Stiles thought fuck it.

If she wanted to know, she could employ a lot of measures to get information out of Stiles and Stiles was tired.

“My name is Stiles, and they didn’t want me around anymore,” he rushed out, and avoided looking at Kali.

“Your alpha rejected you,” she stated.

 _On more than one level_ Stiles thought but he just nodded, heart hurting with every thump it made.

“What about your magic?” she asked and eyed him curiously. “I saw you practice a few times.”

“Then you know as much about my magic as I do,” Stiles bitterly gave back.

“You have no sources, no books, no other mages that help you with this?”

“Do you see anyone else here?” he asked and waved his hand around, encompassing the whole clearing.

“Your alpha rejected you, leaving you vulnerable and hurt, and now you’re learning all of this on your own,” Kali summed up.

“Yes,” Stiles hissed out and Kali got up at that.

Stiles stumbled a few steps back at her speed, but she didn’t make a move towards him.

“That is unacceptable,” she decided and vanished without a look back.

Stiles stared after her, totally taken aback, but then he shrugged. He had no clue what just happened or where Kali ran off to, and he really had no way of finding out, so in the end he just shrugged.

He might be too curious for his own good, but running after an unknown werewolf into the woods, while no one knew where he was, was too risky, even for him. The pack pushing him out might have made him reckless, but he wasn’t quite suicidal, yet.

Besides, he wasn’t done with his practice for the day, he still wasn’t able to grow the fireball in his hands like he wanted to.

Sure, he could throw it, but he couldn’t hold it or manipulate it before throwing it and Stiles had promised himself he would be able to do that before he went home.

Plus, it gave him the added bonus of getting Kali’s words out of his head. If even a strange wolf could recognize that being here on his own, unprotected, was stupid, you’d think Derek would see that as well.

Instead of dwelling on things he couldn’t change, and boy had he tried, Stiles concentrated on his magic again.

He still needed to practice after all.

~*~*~

“There’s a human in the woods practicing magic,” Kali said as she walked into Deucalion’s apartment.

“Is it the darach?” Deucalion mildly asked and when Kali shook her head he raised an eyebrow and asked: “And why should I care then?”

“He smells like he lost his pack. Like they pushed him away. Like the alpha discarded him without another thought. He even admitted to that, even though he doesn’t seem to know what it means for him. They left him all alone,” Kali said, and Deucalion could tell she was thinking back to her own broken bonds.

“Pack bond breaking?” Deucalion asked. “In a human?”

“Yes.”

It wasn’t unheard of, but humans normally couldn’t feel the bonds strongly enough to be affected by them. If they could feel them, and they were broken, it usually affected them as much as it would a wolf.

“You said he practiced magic. What is he, if not the darach?” Deucalion asked Kali who shrugged at him.

“He says he doesn’t know. I saw him a few times; he has no books, no one who teaches him.”

“You saw him several times and you’re only telling me about this now?” Deuc asked and flashed his eyes at her.

“He can barely do anything,” Kali defended herself. “He doesn’t know how. I called him a witch and he didn’t even react to that. He knows nothing.”

“And his pack is not there to help,” Deucalion mused and scratched his chin.

“They are no longer his pack,” Kali corrected.

By now Ennis and the twins had walked into the room as well, curious to see what was going on.

“A human outcasted from the local pack?” Ennis asked with a frown.

“They know we’re coming, don’t they?” Aiden asked.

“I left the sign,” Ennis agreed, and Ethan’s eyes widened.

“Then why would they outcast one of their own, leaving him without protection?” he wanted to know.

“Kali?” Deucalion asked, and she looked confused.

“What? Why would I know? He just said they didn’t want him around anymore.”

Several growls started in the room at once and Deucalion had to work hard not to start as well.

“Why are you telling me this?” Deucalion asked Kali when everyone calmed down again.

“I don’t know,” she honestly said.

“Do you pity him?”

“I feel for him,” Kali hesitantly said. “He’s alone, Deuc. He is there every day, and he’s alone. I couldn’t even smell anyone on him besides a family member. He’s alone.”

Deucalion tilted his head towards his extensive book collection that he took with him wherever they went.

“Is he a druid?” he thoughtfully asked but Kali immediately denied that.

“He can throw fireballs. I have never seen a druid do something like that.”

“Mage, then? Or maybe a spark?” Ennis asked.

“He shines brightly enough to be a spark,” Kali agreed.

“We still have time,” Deucalion said. “Watch him three more days. If his pack doesn’t show up by then, invite him over. I do have some books he might like.”

Deucalion could feel everyone staring at him, but he didn’t react to it.

He still remembered how badly it had hurt to be betrayed by his pack, by people he trusted, and if this kid was going through the same, he wanted to at least try and help.

“Fine,” Kali huffed and promptly walked out of the apartment again.

~*~*~

Kali was back the next day, and Stiles briefly debated the merits of changing clearings before he remembered that she totally could smell him wherever he went.

“What?” he asked her, without breaking his concentration on the crackling fire in his hand.

It wasn’t quite ball shaped, but at least he could grow it at will.

“You’re getting better,” Kali remarked, and Stiles shrugged.

“I have nothing else to do but practice,” he bitterly said.

Derek and the puppies weren’t talking to him, and Stiles wasn’t sure if Scott even knew what had happened. He was still too caught up in Allison to really notice that Stiles hadn’t called him for weeks now.

And he wouldn’t; it was time that Scott made the first step for once.

“Are you always alone here?” Kali asked, right before she froze and turned her attention to something behind Stiles.

“No, he’s not,” Peter said with a growl and Stiles startled so hard, he burned himself on the flame.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he asked and stumbled a few feet back.

He hadn’t seen Peter around much after his resurrection, and he wasn’t quite sure how sane he was this time around, so better safe than sorry.

The last he had seen of Peter was when Derek had told him to get out. Peter hadn’t seemed particularly concerned then.

“Looking out for you,” Peter shortly said, not leaving Kali out of his sight.

“Yeah, right,” Stiles mumbled.

“You don’t have a pack either,” Kali said from his left and Stiles narrowed his eyes at Peter.

“If you go omega on me, I won’t hesitate to burn you down,” he threatened, because he wouldn’t.

If Peter went off the rails again, Stiles would burn him. He had already done it once, it would be no hardship to do it again.

“There’s no danger of that, sweetheart,” Peter said with a very pointed look at Stiles who frowned.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? And anyway, did Derek kick you out, too? The last I saw, you two were all chummy in that stupid loft,” Stiles said, and couldn’t help the stab of pain that went through him when he remembered how Derek had thrown him out, _and how Peter had let him_.

“I wasn’t quite on board with what my nephew did,” Peter explained. “And I was never really in his pack, there’s too much history between us for that.”

“And what are you doing here then?” Stiles asked, and Kali seemed to perk up, as if she wanted to know too.

“Looking out for the only interesting person I have met so far,” Peter easily gave back, and Stiles rolled his eyes.

“Shut up,” he muttered and then turned to Kali. “And what the hell do you want again?”

“I was just making sure that no one had eaten you yet,” she gave back, and Stiles snorted.

“So you could eat me?” he asked and felt Peter stepping up to his side.

“There’s no malice coming from her,” Peter mumbled. “Maybe she is just here to look out for you.”

“Yeah, right,” Stiles bitterly said. “Because suddenly people want to look out for me. Especially ones I don’t even know.”

Peter regarded Kali carefully before he shrugged.

“She hasn’t killed you so far,” he told Stiles, who threw him a glare.

“And that is supposed to reassure me?” Stiles hissed at him.

“Yes,” Peter gave back easily before he started to walk away.

“You’re just gonna leave me alone with her?” Stiles yelled after him and Peter waved a hand at him.

“If she’s naughty just burn her,” he called back and then vanished between the trees.

Stiles turned to Kali and startled when she was a lot closer than before.

“Are you going to kill me?” Stiles asked her and squared his shoulders.

“No,” she said, and Stiles wished Peter was still here, so he could tell him if Kali was lying.

“And you expect me to believe that?”

“Yes,” she answered and dropped down like she had before, a picture of ease, with her legs crossed and leaning back on her hands. “Now show me what you already taught yourself.”

“Why? You know something about magic?” Stiles asked, unable to hide his hope.

“No, but I know someone who does, and he might be willing to help,” Kali replied, sharp grin on her face.

“Might be?” Stiles asked and braced himself. “What do I have to do?”

Because there was always something Stiles was supposed to do, wasn’t there. Always some condition attached to whatever was offered.

“You don’t have to do anything,” Kali replied. “I’m just gonna sit here and watch you, and in three days I’ll tell you where to go.”

“If I don’t have to do anything, then why can’t you tell me now? Why wait three days?” Stiles inquired, because this was just strange all around.

“Other people have to do something. You just go on practicing.”

“You can’t order me around,” Stiles huffed, but did indeed got back to practicing.

He elected to ignore Kali’s satisfied smile.

~*~*~

Stiles wished he could say he forgot all about the three-day timeline, but that would be a lie. He had been counting down the days and was more excited than the promise of someone having actual knowledge about magic, resources maybe even, probably warranted.

When Kali entered the clearing that day and noticed that Stiles was practically vibrating out of his skin, she smiled at him.

“He wants to meet you,” she said without preamble and Stiles already nodded.

“Done. When and where?” he wanted to know, totally disregarding the stranger danger. “Also, who is ‘he’ exactly?”

“You’re going nowhere without me,” Peter suddenly said from behind Stiles and Stiles jumped in surprise.

“Dude, what the fuck,” he hissed, but Peter just shrugged.

“It’s borderline stupid to follow a wolf somewhere without backup,” Peter tells him, as if Stiles didn’t know that.

Stiles very deliberately bit down on the words that wanted to spill out, because even the reminder that Stiles really had no one he could ask to come with him hurt more than he had ever thought, but Peter must have picked up something from his scent.

He threw Stiles a glance, and then brushed their shoulders together.

“So,” Peter said and addressed Kali. “If you’re taking him somewhere, I’m coming too.”

Kali narrowed her eyes at Peter and then crossed the clearing with a few steps, until she’s practically in Peter’s face.

“So you can lead your pack straight to us? I don’t think so, Hale.”

“Please,” Peter scoffed. “They barely keep me in the pack, and even that just so I don’t go off the rails again. I’m not going to tell them anything. I don’t owe them, loyalty or anything else.”

Kali eyed him for a few seconds, clearly trying to gauge if his intentions were true, before she turned towards Stiles again.

Stiles had taken a few steps back; he had no intention of getting between Kali and Peter should they decide that they don’t get on, but when Kali’s eyes fell on him he straightened his shoulders.

“You trust him?” she asked, and Stiles wondered why she would put so much faith into his words when they didn’t even really know each other.

Stiles regarded Peter for a second, smug and seemingly unconcerned like always, before he shortly nodded.

Derek might have pushed him out of the pack, very thoroughly he might add, but Peter had been the only one who had made an attempt to stay in contact.

Hell, he had seen Peter twice in almost two weeks and yet it was still more often than he had seen or even heard from Scott in almost double that time.

So yeah, maybe Stiles shouldn’t, but he did trust Peter right now.

“Come here, tonight. Don’t eat, Deuc will cover that,” Kali brusquely said and shoved a piece of paper at his chest.

Stiles scrambled to take it, before it could fall to the ground and he nearly missed the surprised look on Peter’s face.

“What, you know this Deuc or something?” Stiles asked when he had the paper secure in his hands.

Kali threw a look at Peter before she shrugged and walked away without another word.

Peter stared after her, clearly contemplating his answer.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Peter said, which was enough to make Stiles think that this was clearly something.

But he was tired of always questioning everyone’s motives, and if that Deuc guy offered him books on magic, Stiles wouldn’t turn him down.

Especially not for some vague bullshit answer from Peter.

“If it’s nothing, then I can go alone,” Stiles snapped at him and Peter raised an eyebrow at him.

“Aren’t you feisty today,” he said, and Stiles huffed.

“It just strikes me as odd that you’re suddenly all protective when you did zilch when your fucking nephew kicked me out,” Stiles hissed at him and Peter raised his hands.

“I asked him if that was really necessary,” he defended himself, but Stiles shook his head.

“Yeah, right. Sure you did.”

“Stiles, I did. If my nephew would be a little less narrowminded he would realize what an asset you could be. I tried to tell him exactly that, but he wouldn’t have it. And I am still in need of an alpha. I can’t afford to be kicked out of the pack completely,” Peter apologetically said.

“Oh, and I can?” Stiles wanted to know, and he felt so bitter.

He briefly wondered if Derek would have kicked him out if he was a wolf, if he needed the pack to survive, and then Stiles hated himself for even thinking that.

He shouldn’t have to change species for people to tolerate him.

“At least you’re not going to go feral and kill members of your family,” Peter lowly said and that effectively shut Stiles up.

“Aren’t you risking being kicked out, talking to me? Derek surely made it an order to not talk to me, right?”

It would explain why the others hadn’t tried to talk to him at all. They couldn’t go against a direct order from their alpha

“Oh, yeah, he did. Called a pack meeting and everything,” Peter said and smirked. “What a pity he forgot to invite me.”

Stiles almost laughed at that.

“Still doesn’t explain why you’re being all overprotective,” Stiles instead grumbled.

“I told you, Stiles. I like you,” Peter said, voice almost exactly like it had been in the garage, and then he deftly plucked the paper out of Stiles’ hands.

“Hey,” Stiles protested and tried to grab for it, but of course Peter held it out of his reach easily.

“Since I don’t think you’ll ask me to go with you, I’ll just take a quick look at the address, so I at least know where to find you,” Peter said, glanced down at the paper and then immediately gave it back to Stiles.

He was clearly trying not to laugh and when Stiles glanced down at the address Kali had written down, Stiles frowned.

“Isn’t this where the Argents live?”

“Yes,” Peter said, amusement written all over his face.

“Wow,” Stiles muttered and then tucked the paper into his pocket before he eyed Peter. “You might want to leave now, I’m still blowing shit up,” he shortly said and then formed the fireball in his hand again.

Peter stared at it warily and when Stiles let it grow a little bit, Peter backed away.

“I know when I’m not wanted around,” he said and then vanished between the trees.

Stiles immediately dropped the ball, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t get any more practice in today, not with how excited he was that he might finally have someone to help him with this. Even if it was just by providing books for him.

Stiles decided then and there that he would visit this Deuc this very evening, since he was absolutely sure he couldn’t wait longer than that.

~*~*~

Stiles was nervous when he stepped into the elevator that would bring him to Deuc’s apartment.

He had no idea what to expect, if Kali would be there, if any other pack members would be around and what Kali had even said about Stiles, but he saw Peter’s car outside, and just the knowledge that Peter was in hearing range, that he was truly looking out for him, helped to settle his nerves.

Besides, Stiles had dealt with an insane Peter, had persisted against Gerard and Kate and the kanima, so really, what could this other werewolf possibly do.

Especially since now Stiles also had his magic.

He was in the process of knocking at the door when it was opened to reveal a smirking Kali.

“Couldn’t even wait three days, huh?” she asked.

“This is not a date. If I’d known I would have brought you a file for your nails, cause I’m really not into that,” Stiles gave back, as if she hadn’t told him to come this evening, and he thought he heard someone inside laugh.

Which was good because Kali was narrowing her eyes at him.

“You’re lucky you’re like a lost puppy,” she muttered but stepped aside to let him into the apartment.

She pointed to his left when Stiles didn’t move beyond stepping into the hallway and Stiles carefully made his way over there.

The hallway gave way to a huge living room, and when Stiles stepped inside he saw the hugest man he had ever laid eyes on, and an obviously blind man, sitting on a comfortable looking couch.

“I like you already,” the huge man said and offered Stiles a high five. “The twins don’t dare to tease Kali anymore and it’s just not the same when I have to do all the work,” he went on and Stiles returned the high five at that.

He already liked this man.

“I’m Ennis,” he introduced himself and then pointed at the other man. “This is Deucalion.”

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Stiles,” Deucalion said, and his voice was so smooth, goosebumps broke out all over Stiles’ arms.

“Likewise,” he stuttered out, and then stared for a few seconds when he realized that Deucalion was blind.

“Are you not a werewolf?” Stiles blurted out and then cursed himself and his big mouth.

At this rate he wouldn’t even get to see the books Kali promised him.

“I am,” Deucalion mildly answered and flashed his eyes at Stiles.

“Shit,” Stiles cursed and stumbled back, because Deucalion wasn’t just a werewolf, _he was a fucking alpha._

“No need to be concerned,” Deucalion told him. “I’m not here to bite people. Besides, since you’re a spark, the bite wouldn’t take anyway,” he offhandedly mentioned and with just that statement the danger Deucalion posed took a backseat.

“I would reject it?” Stiles asked and took a step forward again.

The need for knowledge was much greater than his fear response, and Stiles knew it was a problem.

“Your spark would burn the bite right out of you. You’re immune, darling,” Deucalion explained. “You will never be anything else but a spark.”

“Like Lydia?” he couldn’t help but ask and Deucalion tilted his head in question.

Right, why would he know about that.

“Lydia Martin,” Kali said from behind Stiles, effectively startling him.

“Ah, the lovely Miss Martin,” Deucalion said with a nod. “No, you’re nothing like her. Or should I say, she’s nothing like you? Given that you are the far more valuable one.”

Now that was a statement that finally kicked in Stiles’ appropriate fear response.

“What?” he brought out, but he was edging closer to the door, hoping against better judgment that he could make it out the door.

He wondered if it was too late to yell for Peter.

“Don’t be afraid, darling. We mean you no harm. Yes, sparks are rare and powerful, but it never ends well if they are used against their will,” Deucalion told him, and Stiles wasn’t sure if it was his voice or his words, but he slightly relaxed again.

“Why don’t you come over here, and tell me what you already know,” Deucalion said and invitingly patted the space next to him on the couch.

“I’m a spark,” Stiles said as he gingerly sat down next to Deucalion.

Deucalion was clearly still waiting for something more so eventually Stiles shrugged.

“That’s about it, really.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Ennis muttered.

“I told you,” Kali gave back. “He knows nothing.”

Stiles felt anger bubble up in him, but before it could really take hold, Deucalion gently put his hand on Stiles’ arm.

“And that is why you’re here,” he placatingly said. “To learn. Follow me.”

Deucalion got up and walked through the room with a surety that belied his blindness.

Stiles scrambled up from the couch and followed Deucalion out of the room, very aware of the fact that Ennis and Kali stayed behind.

He thought back to the fact that there were two more people, twins, he hadn’t met yet, but they didn’t seem to be around.

Stiles forgot all about them though when Deucalion led him into a huge library. There were books everywhere, and they looked old enough that Stiles wondered if he should be wearing gloves while handling them.

“Wow,” Stiles breathed out and immediately walked over to the closest shelf.

There were books about all kinds of creatures; Stiles could see more than one bestiary just on this shelf, but there were also books about herbs and spells, magic and lore.

“This is amazing,” he said and reverently stroke a finger over a cracked old spine. “They must be old.”

“Centuries, most of them,” Deucalion said from the door. “I took the liberty of pulling out the ones that talk about sparks,” he told Stiles and pointed towards at least twenty books, stacked up on a table.

“But feel free to read anything that catches your eye. Curiosity should never be bound to one topic.”

“You’re giving me access to the whole library?” Stiles asked, looking around with wide eyes.

He wasn’t used to someone sharing their knowledge so easily; Deaton and Derek were cagey at the best times and Stiles didn’t know what to do with all this knowledge that was offered up freely to him now.

“You can read whatever you want, whatever catches your interest,” Deucalion confirmed. “You’re not required to share what you find either, but I’d like to see the progress you will make.”

“You’re not going to stay and supervise me?” Stiles asked, and Deucalion smiled at him.

“Do you need to be supervised, darling?”

“No,” Stiles said, affronted, because he was damn well able to look after himself.

Something in his heartbeat or scent must have registered as a lie though, because Deucalion came closer, gently taking Stiles’ hand in his.

“Unless you want me to stay, of course. I make a good sounding board,” Deucalion said and leaned forward, just a bit, as if he was going to press a kiss to Stiles’ cheek but he drew back before he even came close.

Stiles imagined being all alone in here, reading the no doubt most interesting things, and not being able to share them with anyone. Then he thought back to how comfortable it had been when Kali had been there, mostly just watching but sometimes offering her input, and the decision was easy to make.

“You could stay?” he uncertainly asked but Deucalion only smiled at him.

“Of course, darling,” he easily said and made his way over to the chairs, settling down like he intended to stay for quite some time.

“I hope these books can teach you something new,” Deucalion said and rapped his knuckles on the closest book.

“Did you…” Stiles started and then trailed off, flushing when he realized his mistake.

“I did read some of these, before I lost my sight. I can see enough, sometimes, to pick out the relevant ones for you,” Deucalion explained unprompted and Stiles gingerly sat down across from him.

“So you’re not completely blind?” Stiles dared to ask, but Deucalion didn’t seem offended at all.

“The human is. The wolf is not,” he answered and flashed his eyes at Stiles again.

If he could see like that, Stiles wondered why he didn’t do it all the time. Stiles had a million questions, but he restrained himself.

Deucalion was already accommodating enough, Stiles couldn’t imagine he would enjoy being pestered with personal questions on top of opening his space up to Stiles.

“There should be a few books here about injuries to the human or wolf,” Deucalion said and pointed at a shelf behind Stiles. “I’m sure you will find the right ones.”

Stiles turned around, caught off guard by the easy offer of more information, and he scanned the shelf quickly.

There were a lot of books that caught his eye, but Stiles burned to learn more about his spark, about what he could do, so in the end he concentrated on the books on the table.

“I think I’ll start with those,” he decidedly said and picked up the first one.

Deucalion didn’t say anything else, and soon enough Stiles was lost in the books.

There was just so much to learn, so many things Stiles had never even heard about, and sparks were just the tip of the iceberg. There was a lot of information about magic and sparks and druids, and it was a lot to take in all at once.

During the second book he read, Stiles started to talk out loud, processing details that way, and the first time Deucalion had chimed in with some additional knowledge Stiles startled badly.

He wasn’t used to someone being around while he did his research, and he certainly wasn’t used to someone paying enough attention to actually engage in conversation with Stiles.

After a few hours it was Stiles’ stomach that put an end to his research binge. Deucalion had spent hours with him, and Stiles felt enlightened almost, but he was also ravished.

“I should go now,” he haltingly said and gently put the book he had been reading in down.

“And why would you do that, sweetheart?” Deucalion asked, voice just as pleasant as always, but Stiles immediately tensed.

“My dad is the Sheriff,” he said. “You can’t keep me here.”

“Oh darling,” Deucalion whispered. “I meant you can stay for dinner, if you want. Ennis cooked, and I bet he’ll be delighted to have a new taste tester. I’m not about to keep you against your will here, you’re free to come and go as you please, dear boy.”

Stiles felt the intense urge to apologize, but he refused to. He was right in being wary; he was in a strange alpha’s den, and except for Peter no one knew where he was. And he might not owe his old pack any loyalty, but there was still this small sting of guilt, like he was betraying them somehow by spending time with this other alpha.

But on the other hand, this alpha was offering him help and information, a place to stay and now apparently food. He had done more for Stiles in this one day than Derek ever had.

“Sweetheart, what is going on?” Deucalion asked, clearly picking up on Stiles’ distress.

“Why are you doing this?” Stiles asked, voice just barely wobbling, and he hated himself for being so needy, for being so weak that even the slightest kindness could reduce him to this.

“Why am I doing what, darling boy?” Deucalion asked and a light bulb to his side suddenly exploded.

“Don’t call me that,” Stiles hissed and tried to reign in his magic.

Deucalion hadn’t reacted to the light bulb, but Stiles thought it was better to not blow up the whole library.

“I apologize,” Deucalion said, standing up slowly, but keeping his distance. “I didn’t want to overstep any boundaries.”

“Just tell me why you’re doing this,” Stiles said, and he rubbed his forehead, suddenly beyond tired.

“Your pack bonds are broken, you’re alone. You clearly have no idea what you’re doing, regarding your spark and I have the means to help you. With all of these things.”

“Why would you care what my pack did to me?” Stiles asked, because that was what he didn’t understand.

He could understand why Deucalion wanted to make sure he learned something, was even willing to provide information. Stiles was posing a danger, untrained as he was, and Deucalion probably hoped to make Stiles dependent on him, get him to work for him.

That made sense. The other thing, not so much.

“We lost our packs,” Deucalion said, and startled Stiles out of his thoughts. “We know what it’s like to have these bonds ripped apart, to be alone. But we found each other, restored some of the bonds.”

“You’re all alphas,” Stiles breathed and grabbed for the table to stabilize himself.

“Yes. And we decided to make a pack of our own, because broken pack bonds hurt worse than anything else.”

“It’s like losing a limb,” Stiles said, remembering something Derek had said once.

“Yes. And even though you’re human, you have a spark. You feel the pack bonds; not like a wolf, but enough to hurt, now that they are broken.”

Stiles thought back to the horrible feeling that had nestled in his chest ever since Derek had kicked him out, and he thought that maybe Deucalion wasn’t lying to him.

That maybe, just this once, someone was nice to him because they didn’t want him to suffer. It was better than thinking Deucalion just wanted to take advantage of him and his abilities.

“What’s for dinner?” Stiles asked, instead of replying to Deucalion.

“Going by the smell, Ennis made curry,” Deucalion said after he sniffed once. “You’re going to like it. And you’ll meet Aiden and Ethan.”

“The twins,” Stiles said, and Deucalion nodded.

“They’ll start school with you, once summer break is over.”

“Watching me?” Stiles couldn’t help but ask, but Deucalion only smiled softly at him.

“Watching out for you, darling,” he gave back, and Stiles knew he should call him out on the endearment again, but to be honest he really didn’t want to.

These mood swings would make him nauseous one of these days.

“I don’t know why I feel like this,” Stiles lowly admitted and rubbed his hand over his eyes.

Deucalion came closer, close enough to cup Stiles’ cheek in his hand and Stiles unconsciously leaned into the contact.

“It’s the bond breaking. You’re reeling from that loss, darling boy.”

Stiles shuddered under his touch; something in those words rung true and it smoothed out a ragged edge in Stiles’ chest.

“Stay for dinner,” Deucalion said again, and this time Stiles didn’t even have to think.

“Okay,” he agreed.

Dinner was an interesting event. Ennis was loud, but sweet, Kali was just as reserved as in the woods and the twins were fun. They seemed genuinely interested in Stiles, asking questions over questions and all through that, Deucalion was a steady presence at his side.

When Stiles left that evening, he felt a lot more stable than he had in weeks, his magic humming contentedly under his skin, and Stiles wondered how it could be that a dinner with strangers, some kindness from them, was all it took to make him feel lighter than he had in weeks.

As Stiles stepped out of the front door, Peter easily fell into step beside him.

“How was dinner?” Peter asked, and Stiles rolled his eyes.

“As if you didn’t hear every word,” he accused, and Peter shrugged.

“I got the words, but not the feelings. Are you feeling better?” he asked seriously, and looked Stiles over, as if checking for injuries.

“Did you want me to go to them? Did you know Deucalion is an alpha?” Stiles asked, and he froze on the spot to stare accusingly at Peter.

“Did you know?” Stiles asked again, when Peter didn’t answer.

“Of course I knew,” Peter eventually said with a shrug. “Power like his is hardly unnoticeable.”

“You knew from the beginning,” Stiles whispered when he remembered the way Peter had stumbled over Deuc’s name

“Yes, I did,” Peter admitted, but he didn’t seem very apologetic about it.

“You knew Deuc,” Stiles accused him and at the sly look Peter threw him, paired with an eyebrow waggle, Stiles groaned. “Oh god, you totally fucked, didn’t you?” he asked. “That’s how you know him.”

“When we were younger,” Peter easily admitted. “But he mostly knew my sister, since they were both alphas and working together closely.”

There was a tint of bitterness to Peter’s voice, but Stiles decided to ignore it for today. He was already emotionally exhausted enough.

“Did you talk to him recently?” Stiles asked instead, because it seemed like the safer option.

“Well, I had to make sure he wasn’t a threat to you, right? I had to make sure his intentions were of the non-murdery variety.”

“You talked about intentions? What the fuck?” Stiles almost yelled and Peter laughed at him.

“He asked me if we’re together, so Kali must have told him some interesting things,” Peter said with a leer and Stiles blushed.

“I didn’t even meet this guy before today,” Stiles protested.

“And yet you’re already thinking about coming back,” Peter said, like it was a given. “Deucalion has that effect on people.”

Stiles tensed again, the thought that this was some kind of trap still lingering in his mind, but Peter brushed his hand down Stiles’ arm.

“Not like that,” he reassured him, easily picking up on Stiles mood. “He just has this way of inspiring loyalty in people. That’s one of the things that didn’t change over the years. He could still sweettalk anyone.”

“Even you?” Stiles asked.

“I don’t think I’m going to be one of his priorities,” Peter gave back and then promptly walked away, leaving Stiles to finally go home.

When he walked into the empty, dark house and checked his phone to see that there were no new messages, Stiles wondered why he even bothered.

~*~*~

Stiles was back the next day. Deucalion had said he could drop by whenever he wanted, but somehow Stiles still expected that no one would open him, or that they would turn him away.

Instead he was immediately pulled into a hug when Ennis opened the door.

“The little spark,” he said and squeezed Stiles briefly before he pulled him into the apartment.

“Hi,” Stiles mumbled, unaccustomed to such a heartfelt greeting.

“Come on in, come on in,” Ennis said as he pushed Stiles towards the kitchen. “I made sandwiches.”

When they entered the kitchen Aiden and Ethan were already eating, but there was still a huge plate filled with sandwiches on the table. Kali was leaning against the counter, nursing a cup of coffee and just as Ennis bullied Stiles into a chair Deucalion entered the room as well.

“Sweetheart,” Deucalion greeted him and brushed his hand over Stiles arm.

Stiles had read about more than just his spark yesterday, his attention span not long enough to stay focused on just one topic, so he knew damn well that what Deucalion was doing, and what Peter had been doing yesterday, was scent marking, but he couldn’t find it in him to protest.

It was a clear sign to any supernatural being that Stiles belonged to a pack, that he had a family, back-up, and even though he only had known Deucalion and his pack for a day, Kali a little bit longer, he couldn’t say that he minded.

It was good to feel so welcome.

There was idle chatter during lunch, Stiles easily included, but after a while everyone filed out of the kitchen, leaving only Stiles and Deucalion behind.

“How far along are you with your physical practice concerning your spark?” Deucalion asked as he got two mugs ready for them.

“Sometimes things explode around me,” Stiles admitted. “Exploding light bulbs are usually the least of my worry. I can form fireballs, levitate things, but it takes a lot of concentration.”

“So you’re still practicing that aspect of your magic, just as you are still learning theoretically about it, too,” Deucalion said, and it wasn’t condescending, he was just stating the facts.

“I’m quite fond of this kitchen, so I would prefer it if you could stick to levitating, when you practice indoors, darling.”

“I can practice here?” Stiles haltingly asked, though he had honestly no clue why he was surprised by that offer.

Deucalion had been nothing but accommodating to him, but this was just one more thing where he yet again surpassed every standard Derek ever set as alpha.

With Deucalion’s permission Stiles immediately started to show him what exactly he could do already.

After those first two days, they settled into an easy routine.

Stiles would drop by around lunch, which was provided by Ennis just like dinner, and the pack talked about their day. After that Stiles and Deucalion would either stay in the kitchen or go to the living room so that Stiles could practice the active aspects of his magic, before the retired to the library with some afternoon tea, so that Stiles could get more theoretical knowledge.

Stiles stayed for dinner, which soon became another pack affair, when Stiles started to help Ennis, and when he left, Peter was always there to ask about his day, and check him over.

There was a lot of scent marking going on because no one, not even Peter, had any qualms about touching Stiles. Kali would pet him on the head, Ennis gently steered him around the kitchen or guided his hands when Stiles was unfamiliar with a motion and the twins usually draped themselves all over Stiles when they were talking.

Deucalion was by far the one who touched Stiles the most though. He was always close, always reaching out for Stiles, to take his hand, cup his cheek, pull him into a hug, and he never stopped using the endearments.

Stiles really didn’t mind that at all.

Peter was a close second, even though he only had the short time it took Stiles to walk from the apartment to his jeep, but he made good use of it, once he realized Stiles didn’t deny him.

Stiles had been speechless the first time Peter had hugged him, and very blatantly rubbed his cheek against Stiles hair, but he had returned the hug. Apparently, that meant he had given Peter a free pass on everything, because he never really stopped touching him afterwards.

Stiles still came home to a mostly empty house, but his phone rarely stayed silent for long, the twins in constant contact, and even Peter reaching out more often than not and since Stiles knew that he would leave for Deucalion’s place soon enough again, it wasn’t even that bad.

~*~*~

Stiles was practicing in the kitchen one day, when it all went to shit.

He still didn’t dare to do more than simple levitation, too afraid that his spark would act up again, even though Deucalion had asked Stiles to make the fireball.

Today he had been swayed, though the last time he had made it indoors he had almost set fire to his room, and his spark felt stronger now than it used to.

But Deucalion had asked Stiles to do it and Stiles could barely tell him no, so he took a deep breath and formed the fireball, Deucalion almost plastered to his side, hand reaching out to feel for it.

Stiles was worried; his spark usually didn’t hurt him, but he never had someone so close before and he didn’t want to hurt Deucalion, so he kept the ball small in hopes to control it more easily.

Which was of course when it all blew up in his face, and quite literally at that.

“What happened here?” Kali asked as she stormed into the now mostly destroyed kitchen, while Stiles’ ears were still ringing from the explosion.

“I did this,” Stiles said, and he almost choked on the words.

They would throw him out too now. He had known it was inevitable.

“Dear boy, how does your spark work. On belief?” Deuc asked while he gingerly picked shards out of his arm, seemingly calm in face of his own injuries and the destruction of his apartment.

“I don't know,” Stiles gave back and wrung his hands in front of his chest. “According to the books it might be.”

“And are you afraid that you're going to blow up things? That they'll explode around you because you think you don't have enough control?” Deuc wanted to know and Stiles stared at him.

“Are you seriously trying to figure out how my spark works when I destroyed your kitchen? When you're still bleeding?”

His voice got higher with the last words, and Stiles shakily watched as Kali picked out some shards Deuc had missed.

“Why don't we get this behind us and you throw me out already?” Stiles bitterly asked and walked away, deliberately putting Kali and Deuc at his back.

He was so tired of people watching him leave, but he couldn't stand to look at them a moment longer. He didn't want to see their faces when they threw him out like Derek had.

At least with Derek Stiles could pretend that it wasn’t his fault, that Derek had his own reasons for throwing him out. But this, Stiles caused this himself, and he couldn’t even be mad that they would abandon him, too.

He only wished it had happened much sooner so that he didn't have time to get attached to them. Now it would only hurt more.

“Who says we're going to throw you out?” Deuc mildly asked from behind Stiles who stopped in his tracks.

“Don't joke,” he pressed out, pressing a hand over his eyes, and then suddenly Deucalion was at his side.

“Oh darling,” Deuc said as he curled one arm around Stiles’ waist and gently but determinedly pulled him into his side. “We’re not going to throw you out over something like this.”

“But I don’t have control,” Stiles whispered. “Who knows what I’m going to blow up next time. I could have seriously hurt you and you’d be right to throw me out, if only just for self-protection.”

“Stiles, we’re not going to abandon you like your old pack did,” Deucalion said, and Stiles snapped to attention at the use of his name.

Deucalion never called him that, he always had a nickname ready, some form of endearment, and hearing his name from Deucalion caught him off guard.

“But I’m dangerous,” Stiles mumbled and lightly trailed his fingers over the almost healed cuts on Deucalion’s arm.

“It obviously stresses you out, thinking you don't have control over your magic.”

“No shit,” Stiles gave back and Deuc squeezed him.

“That's why things are blowing up. You believe they will, so they do. You have perfect control over your spark, you just have to tell yourself that. Believe it.”

“Easier said than done,” Stiles mumbled and Deuc chuckled before he suddenly went stiff.

“You're bleeding,” he said, and his voice had an urgency to it that hadn’t been there before. “Kali!” he called out.

“It's not deep,” she said and walked up to them, wet towel already in her hands. “He has a few small cuts from the glass, nothing deep, and nothing got stuck,” she reassured Deucalion before she gently swiped down Stiles arm.

“We don't have a first aid kit,” she apologetically said, and Stiles frowned

“Why would you? You don’t need it.”

“No, but you do, dear heart,” Deucalion said, and Stiles tried very hard not to blush at that endearment.

“I wouldn't expect you to just get them for me,” he told them with a shrug, and decided to ignore the look Kali and Deucalion shared over his head.

“Peter,” Deucalion suddenly called out, just slightly above normal volume, but before Stiles could ask what that was about he heard the front door fall shut before Ennis walked in.

“Holy shit, what happened here?” he asked when he took a glance at the kitchen, before he came over to Deucalion, who was still holding Stiles close.

“A little experiment gone wrong,” Deucalion said as if it wasn’t even a big deal and Ennis looked around with wide eyes.

“You did that, little spark?” he then asked, and Stiles tried to shrink into himself, because he didn’t want these people to be afraid of him, to hate him.

“Wow, I didn’t know you were this powerful,” Ennis went on, and he sounded delighted at the display of power.

Before Stiles could react to that someone frantically knocked at the door.

“Kali, let him in,” Deucalion instructed and guided Stiles over to the couch to sit him down.

“Is he okay?” Peter asked as he hurried into the room, and Stiles quickly did the math in his head; there was no way Peter could have been here already if he only entered the house when Deucalion called out for him, so he must have already been on his way.

He really was looking out for Stiles.

“Some shallow cuts, Kali assured me,” Deucalion gave back and briefly squeezed Peter’s arm who returned the gesture even as he was reaching out for Stiles to check him over personally.

There was a familiarity to the gesture Stiles hadn’t expected and he wondered just how often Peter came here. Certainly often enough that no one even blinked an eye that he was there.

“When you drive him home today, make sure that he gets some band aids on these cuts. I don’t want him to get an infection,” Deucalion instructed.

“Hey,” Stiles spoke up. “I came here in the jeep and I’m perfectly able to drive home on my own. Plus, I know how to handle injures, this is neither the first time I got hurt nor is it the worst, so I know what to do.”

There was a low rumbled coming from Deuc’s chest when Stiles mentioned the injuries, and he pulled him harder into his side again.

“You just caused an explosion, probably depleting a good amount of your power and you’re still shaking,” Deucalion said. “You will not operate a vehicle like that.”

“I can take you back in my car, and drive you here tomorrow as well,” Peter told him, gently turning and bending Stiles’ arm as if he was looking for worse injuries.

“I really am okay, you know. It barely even hurts,” Stiles said and followed Peter’s pointed look to Deucalion’s hand.

It was crawling with black veins.

“Oh,” he said, and Deuc chuckled as he pressed a kiss to his hair.

“Yeah, oh, darling. But it’s still not bad, I promise you.”

“You won’t even have to find out, I will keep the pain drain up,” Peter promised and got an approving nod from Deucalion.

Stiles got the distinct feeling that those two were teaming up against him, but he couldn’t say that he minded. It felt good to be looked after for once.

Scott hadn’t even noticed when Stiles had been kidnapped and beaten and having two people fuss over some small cuts filled Stiles with warmth and happiness.

But it wasn’t just him who had gotten hurt and Stiles carefully dragged over Deucalion’s arm. The cuts were already gone, but it had still happened.

“I’m sorry,” Stiles said and went on before Deucalion could interrupt him. “I’m sorry about the kitchen, too.”

He didn’t dare take a peek, fearing that the destruction was much worse than he had initially seen, and Stiles head was already spinning with calculation how much the repair would cost. He wasn’t sure he could afford it.

“Don’t worry about it, darling,” Deucalion said. “We’ll have someone over to fix it.”

“You can,” Stiles started and then swallowed heavily before he went on. “You can send the bill to me,” he weakly finished.

Peter was staring at him as if he lost his mind and Deucalion was vehemently shaking his head.

“Don’t be ridiculous, sweetheart. You’re not going to pay for anything. We have it more than covered.”

“Yeah, kid, don’t even worry your pretty little head about this,” Ennis chimed in and ruffled Stiles’ hair.

“I can’t possibly ask you to cover the costs of something I destroyed,” Stiles weakly protested, and Peter took his hands in his.

“Listen, Stiles. No one is asking you to come up with the money for this. You didn’t mean to do that, it was an accident, and Deucalion and his pack are more than happy to pay for this,” he said with a small glance towards Deucalion who just smiled at him. “Even if they weren’t I would cover for it. This is not something you need to worry about.”

“You sure?” he asked Peter, just as much as Deucalion and this time it was Deucalion who answered.

“Absolutely, darling. You will not pay a penny for this, Peter is absolutely right,” Deucalion agreed.

“Thank you,” Stiles breathed out and slumped against Deucalion, relief coursing through him.

“You’re more than welcome, love,” Deucalion whispered back and pressed a lingering kiss to Stiles’ head.

Peter was watching them closely and Stiles could feel himself blush.

“Come on now,” Peter said before Stiles could blurt out something stupid, and carefully pulled him out of Deucalion’s arms. “Let’s get you home now and tend to those cuts.”

They said their goodbyes to the others and then Peter kept an arm around Stiles’ waist the whole way down to his car. Stiles would have said something about that if he wasn’t secretly grateful for it; his knees were still shaking a bit.

Even in the car Peter kept a hand on him at all times, draining his pain, even though Stiles was pretty sure it was useless. The cuts were minor, and he didn’t expect them to hurt much.

When they entered Stiles’ house Stiles eyed Peter from the side.

“Am I allowed to get the first aid kit, or are you going to hold my hand the whole damn time?” he asked and raised their hands, which were in fact entangled, since Peter had immediately grabbed for it when they got out of the car.

“I wouldn’t mind holding your hand a bit longer,” Peter said with a wink and Stiles snatched his hand away and rolled his eyes too, for good measure.

“You don’t have to stay, you know, I can patch these up myself,” Stiles said as he went to the bathroom to fetch the first aid kit.

“I told Deucalion I would, and I’m not about to let you make a liar out of me,” Peter called back, to accommodate for Stiles’ human hearing.

“Whatever,” Stiles muttered as he made his way back, kit tucked under his arm.

Peter was waiting for him in the living-room and he immediately pushed Stiles down on the couch, taking the kit from him. He rummaged through the content for a few seconds and then took out everything he would need.

He took Stiles’ arm carefully and positioned it in a way that allowed him to get to all the cuts.

“Deucalion likes you,” Peter said as he carefully cleaned out the wounds on Stiles’ arm.

Stiles wanted to protest, but Peter silenced him with a look.

“He’s not usually this tactile or soft with anyone.”

“Not even when you were together?” Stiles asked and watched as Peter put band aids over the worst of the cuts.

“He was a different person then. We both were. And we weren’t actually together,” he said with a small smile and Stiles flushed at the implications of that.

“To be honest, I expected more Batman themed band aids in here,” Peter said and pulled Stiles out of his thoughts with that.

“There were,” he said after a quick glance at the bland band aids Peter took out. “I used up the last of them and forgot to buy new ones.”

“Hmm,” Peter hummed as he covered all the cuts with band aids.

When he was done there were more band aids than skin and Stiles rolled his eyes.

“This is totally unnecessary,” he said again and picked at the edge of one.

“Stop that,” Peter said and swatted his hand away. “And better safe than sorry. You’re totally the type to get an infection from something like this and then die.”

Stiles wanted to protest, but in all honesty, it seemed like something that would happen to him.

“Fine, but there’s no need for you to tuck me into bed as well, just so you know,” Stiles grumbled, and Peter laughed.

“Can I make you some dinner at least?” Peter asked and was already walking towards the kitchen without waiting for Stiles’ response.

“Uh,” Stiles said, because he was pretty sure there was nothing in the fridge that was edible.

His dad has been eating at the station for the past weeks and Stiles has always been at Deuc’s place for lunch and dinner.

Going by the telling silence after Stiles heard Peter open the fridge, he had come to the same conclusion.

“I’m ordering in,” Peter decisively said and already had his phone out when he came back to Stiles.

“I’m not paying,” he immediately said, and Peter sent him a sharp look.

“What I said at Deucalion’s place still stands. You’re not paying for anything,” he told Stiles.

“Okay, got it,” Stiles replied and sunk deeper into the couch.

Maybe one day he would get used to people wanting to buy things for him, but today was not that day. But if people kept it up like this, that day would come sooner rather than later, Stiles thought.

~*~*~

Peter drove him over to Deucalion’s the next day and handed him over at the door like a maiden from old times.

Stiles felt ridiculous.

Peter dragged his hand down Stiles’ arm before he left, clearly scent marking him and Stiles quickly looked over to Deucalion.

He must have smelled like Peter every day he came over, but he was sure it was something different for Peter to scent mark him so blatantly in Deucalion’s presence.

But Deucalion just nodded at Peter and when he then dragged Stiles into the apartment he run his hand down Stiles’ other arm, not covering Peter’s scent but mixing it and Stiles frowned. He hadn’t expected that.

“How are your injuries, darling?” Deucalion asked and grabbed his hand, to drain some pain.

Not much was happening, because like Stiles had suspected, the cuts didn’t even really hurt.

“All patched up,” Stiles promised and squeezed Deucalion’s hand before taking his hand back and walking over to the living-room.

“What is that?” Stiles asked when he entered the room and pointed at a red box.

Deucalion had made his way over to the kitchen, which was cleaned up, but still in horrible condition, and Stiles’ eyes immediately fell onto another red box when he trailed after him.

“Why are there so many red boxes here?” he asked again, and Ennis poked his head into the kitchen.

“They are first aid kits, kid,” he said with a shrug and then disappeared again.

“What? You don’t need them,” Stiles said to no one in particular, but aware that everyone in the apartment could hear him.

“But you do, darling,” Deucalion mildly said as he walked into the kitchen.

“You got them for me?” Stiles wanted to know, frowning at the kit.

“Of course we did,” Deucalion answered and gently stroke his hand over Stiles’ arm again, where the band aids were still covering most of the cuts.

“I can pay you back,” Stiles said and looked up at Deucalion, who seemed displeased.

“And why would you do that, darling boy? I thought we went over that with the kitchen already?” he asked.

“But you don’t need them? They are just for me, so I should pay for them.”

Deucalion was in the process of opening his mouth when Kali came into the kitchen, walked straight up to Stiles and cuffed him over the head.

“Don’t be an idiot, you’re ours, and we take care of what’s ours,” she courtly said before she walked away again.

Stiles was left staring dumbly after her.

“I would have said it differently, but she’s not wrong, Stiles. You are part of this pack, and we care about you. We want to look out for you,” Deucalion said when Stiles had stayed silent for too long.

Stiles refused to admit that he was blinking back tears, because it was so stupid, to cry over something like this, and yet, no one had shown they cared like this in a long time.

It was just too much.

“Oh, darling,” Deucalion softly said and pulled Stiles into a hug.

Stiles clung to him and he couldn’t help the few tears that escaped, but Deucalion just held him tighter, and didn’t let go until Stiles started to pull away.

“Are you okay?” Deucalion asked him, and Stiles sniffled a few times before he nodded.

“Yes, I’m good. Thank you,” he said and leaned up to press a kiss to Deucalion’s cheek before he hastily pulled away.

“You’re more than welcome, love,” Deucalion gave back, and Stiles was sure he was flushing bright red again.

If only Deucalion would stop using those endearments on him, it could give a guy ideas.

~*~*~

Stiles had taken Deucalion’s comment on his spark to heart, and it turned out he was right. Stiles just needed to believe something would happen, that he could make things fly, that the fireball would grow in his palm, and it happened.

Ever since that revelation Stiles was using his magic a lot more freely, and it felt more settled under his skin than ever, like it had just waited for Stiles to finally get it.

There had been a split second where Stiles feared that Deucalion would now ask him to leave; he had invited him to learn about his spark after all, and Stiles had now perfect control over it, but it was only that, a split second.

Stiles knew better by now, and neither Deucalion nor the others made any move to make him leave. If anything, they made sure that Stiles knew he was welcome whenever when they gave him a key to the apartment.

Peter was invited right along with him, something that still surprised Stiles, but Peter assured him that it was only so he and Deucalion could conspire more easily against Stiles and work out plans on how to take care of him.

Stiles had rolled his eyes at that, but he had seen how the smirk Peter usually wore turned into something softer, before he had turned away, and Stiles suddenly wasn’t so sure he had been joking.

Especially since Deucalion and Peter _did_ take good care of him. Not only by feeding him, but also by providing company and generally showing interest in Stiles and his life. It was sad that he wasn’t used to that, but Deucalion, his pack, and Peter were continuously working on changing that.

And it was working so well that Stiles wasn’t even worried when school finally started again.

He hadn’t heard from any of the pack in weeks, not even Scott, but by now it barely even hurt anymore. He had other people who asked after him, who wanted to know if he was okay, if he had time, and his phone barely went for an hour without announcing a new message for him.

So when he came into the school and saw them all huddled together, avoiding him, he easily shrugged it off and instead got his phone out to remind Peter that he had to pick him up from school today since the jeep was in the shop. Deucalion had insisted and really, who was Stiles to say no to that.

He hit sent right before the twins showed up, immediately making their way over to him and Stiles smiled. He had new friends he could count on.

Stiles was vaguely aware that Scott and the others were frowning in their direction, but Stiles didn’t care. He was allowed to make new friends.

He pushed it all out of his mind, at least until lunch came around because before he could go look for the twins, Scott was suddenly there and pulled him into an empty classroom.

“What the hell, man?” Stiles wanted to know, reminding himself that Scott had no power over him, and if Stiles wanted to leave he damn well could. Especially with his magic humming under his skin.

“Why are you hanging around with the twins?” Scott hissed. “And why do you smell like him?” he asked, and Stiles frowned.

If Scott was going to berate him that he smelled like Peter, after all this time of not talking, then they would have a problem.

“Why do I smell like who?” Stiles asked, unwilling to admit anything, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Deucalion,” Scott almost spat out.

“How do you know Deuc?” Stiles asked and something in him clenched briefly at the thought that Scott and Deucalion knew each other, that this was all a ploy of some sorts, before Stiles mentally shook his head.

He trusted Deucalion, and he trusted Peter; they wouldn’t do something like that to him.

“He’s the threat Derek warned you about,” Scott urgently said and was frowning at Stiles.

“No one warned me about any threats,” Stiles protested and there was the already familiar pain in his chest, though it wasn’t as bad as it used to be. Stiles barely even noticed it anymore.

“Of course Derek warned you. That’s why he asked you to stay away from the pack,” Scott insisted.

“He didn’t ask me to stay away from the pack,” Stiles coldly said. “He kicked me out and told me to never come back, that there was no need for me. He didn’t even bother to tell me anything about the threat.”

“That’s not what Derek said,” Scott said, clearly confused, but Stiles was so over this.

“I don’t care, Scott. You didn’t come to talk to me either. And for the record, Deucalion has been a lot nicer than Derek ever was.”

“Yeah, did he tell you he’s here to kill Derek? Did he tell you he’s the demon wolf?” Scott wanted to know, but Stiles didn’t react to that.

“Goodbye, Scott,” Stiles said and then walked away.

For the first time in his life, he walked away from someone, instead of the other way around and it was a better feeling than Stiles had thought.

But Scott had managed to cast some doubt in Stiles’ mind and so he immediately went to find the twins.

They were already waiting for him at his locker and going by their faces, they knew exactly what Scott had said, so Stiles didn’t bother with a retelling.

“Is it true what he said?” Stiles asked, and the twins shared a glance.

“I think you should talk to Deuc about that,” Aiden eventually said, and just that was enough to make Stiles go cold.

If they were this sketchy about it, then surely there must be some truth to Scott’s word.

Stiles quickly checked his schedule and decided that he could skip the last classes he had and instead texted Peter with a glare at the twins.

He would get his answers, even if he had to ask for a ride first. Peter just texted a thumbs-up emoji back and Stiles was still kinda baffled that Peter used those.

Stiles was waiting for him, carefully staying out of sight of the windows, so no teacher could see him and quickly jogged over to Peter when he finally arrived. He yanked the door open, threw his bag in the back and flopped down on the seat.

“What’s up with you today?” Peter asked with a raised eyebrow and Stiles fixed him with a glare.

“Drive to somewhere where we can talk,” he ordered Peter and to his credit, he silently started to drive, though he did keep throwing glances at Stiles.

Peter pulled up at the first parking lot they came across and after he killed the engine he turned to Stiles, giving him his whole attention.

“Did you know that the reason Derek kicked me out of the pack is Deucalion and him being _the demon wolf_?” Stiles asked without preamble and Peter narrowed his eyes.

“The reason Derek kicked you out of the pack is because he’s stupid and afraid and didn’t accept that you can damn well make your own decisions,” Peter stated.

“But it is true then,” Stiles said, deciding to ignore the clear disdain Peter had for his nephew.

“Yes. Deucalion is the alpha of alphas, he’s the leader of the pack and all of them are alphas, but you already knew that part. Their plan was to kill Derek or get him to join their pack, though I do think that last option is no longer available for my nephew.”

“Why not?” Stiles asked, filing away the other info for later.

“Sweetheart, you can’t really believe that Deucalion wants Derek anywhere near his pack after what he did to you.”

“It’s…what?” Stiles asked incredulously, and Peter slightly shook his head.

“Deucalion might want more power, which he would get if Derek joined his pack, but he wants you to be happy more. Derek is on the top of Deuc’s shit list with how he treated you, and I don’t think there’s a way for him to make up for that.”

“So Deuc wants to kill him?”

“That’s another way for Deuc to get more power, so yeah,” Peter said with a shrug.

“You’re not overly concerned about that,” Stiles observed, and Peter huffed.

“You really think I care what happens to Derek? He killed me. He is a horrible alpha and he hurt you. If Deuc wants to kill him, he should go right ahead.”

“That leaves you without a pack,” Stiles reminded him, and Peter looked at him like he was stupid.

“Deuc accepted me as his beta weeks ago,” Peter told him and that was actually information Stiles didn’t have.

“Why is no one telling me these things?”

“You think I would have been allowed in the apartment like that without being in his pack?”

Now that Stiles thought about it, it did make sense.

“Okay, but the demon wolf,” Stiles hesitantly said. “Like, an actual bad guy?”

Peter shrugged at that.

“I guess, though I’m probably not the best judge, since I wouldn’t say I’m a bad guy.”

“Have they been fighting?” Stiles wanted to know.

“Yes,” Peter bluntly gave back. “No one’s dead yet, but I guess that will only be a matter of time, with how incompetent Derek is leading the pack.”

“I should care about that, right?” Stiles asked, slightly appalled at his lack of shock at that. “They are my friends.”

“I really hope you are talking about Deucalion and his pack, because I fail to see how the others have been any kinds of friends to you for the past few months. For god’s sake, Scott and Derek didn’t even notice when you were abducted by Gerard,” Peter said.

“But I know them. I should care that they are in danger,” Stiles protested again, because he wasn’t sure he was comfortable with his lack of concern for Derek and his pack.

“You know Deucalion and his pack too,” Peter gave back. “And besides, at least they are doing something to keep your dad safe as well,” he offhandedly went on and Stiles stared at him.

“My dad?” he asked. “Is he in danger?”

“There’s another threat in town, we think, and Deucalion is keeping an eye on your dad just in case,” Peter explained.

“And you didn’t tell me about that other threat?” Stiles asked but Peter wasn’t fazed.

“We only confirmed it yesterday. Deuc is most likely going to ask you to help with research as soon as you arrive today, and since it’s another magic user, you will be of invaluable help.”

“I get to help?”

“Of course, idiot,” Peter scoffed, and Stiles felt the urge to stick his tongue out at him.

He took a few minutes to think all of that over, and Peter kept blessedly quiet. He needed some time to really accept that Deuc might be the bad guy in Scott’s eye, but that that was not who he was with Stiles, and Stiles really couldn’t bring himself to care.

Sure, he didn’t want Derek to die, didn’t want any of his pack to die, but the same could be said for Deucalion and his pack. And Deucalion had taken care of him and his dad and made sure that he wouldn’t be put in the middle of this whole mess, which, strangely enough, made Stiles feel cared for, like his emotional wellbeing was important instead of irrelevant.

After a few minutes, Stiles groaned.

“What?” Peter asked him, and Stiles punched his shoulder.

“He called me love and dear heart,” Stiles said, and he didn't quite know how to feel about that. “You let him call me that,” he then said, throwing an accusing look at Peter.

“I would have stopped him, but he smells of nothing but appreciation for you when he says it,” Peter gave back with a shrug, totally unconcerned.

“And besides, don't tell me you don't enjoy his attention. He at least knows what he has with you, unlike some other alpha,” Peter added.

“You appreciate me,” Stiles said, certain in at least that knowledge, and Peter smiled softly at him.

“I certainly do. But it's not the same, is it?” he asked, and Stiles thought for a split second that there was something wistful in the turn of his lips. “Anyway, I don't think I can soothe that particular wound.”

At Stiles questioningly look Peter went on.

“I'm not an alpha and you’re not in love with me,” he explained, and Stiles flushed bright red.

“No, you’re not my alpha,” Stiles gave back, pointedly ignoring Peter’s searching gaze, because he was in no way ready to look closer at the confusing feelings he had for Peter. He wasn’t even sure what to do about the not so confusing feelings he had about Deucalion, he didn’t need to add this to the pile right now.

Peter, thank the gods, accepted his statement and didn’t ask further questions, though Stiles could still feel his gaze on him.

Stiles startled when his phone suddenly rang and when he saw that it was Deucalion, he quickly declined the call. He didn’t know if he was ready to talk to him yet.

“Can you drive me home?” he lowly asked, and Peter started the car without comment.

They drove in silence the whole way; Peter concentrated on the street and Stiles worrying his lip with his teeth and regularly declining Deucalion’s calls.

When Peter pulled up in Stiles’ driveway Derek was walking up and down on the front porch.

Peter growled but Stiles silenced him with a glance.

“Wait here,” he said as he got out of the car, hoping that for once in his life, Peter would do as he was told.

Peter was gripping the steering wheel so hard, Stiles could hear the leather creak and he glowered at his nephew.

“If he touches you, I’ll hurt him,” he threatened, well aware that Derek could hear him, and Stiles leaned back into the car.

“If he tries to touch me, he’ll have another thing coming,” Stiles promised, secure in the knowledge that his magic could easily take on Derek and slammed the door shut.

Derek was facing him when he climbed the steps, and Stiles wondered in a very detached way how he could have ever had feelings for him. The permanent scowl alone made him unattractive, not to mention his gruffness and permanent manhandling.

“What?” Stiles demanded to know, and Derek glared at Peter a second longer before he finally dragged his gaze over to Stiles.

“You need to stay away from Deucalion,” Derek said, and Stiles clenched his jaw.

“And you need to stay the hell out of my life,” he countered, and Derek flashed his eyes at Stiles, as if that would make him submit.

Stiles only squared his shoulders.

“Deucalion is a bad man,” Derek tried, and Stiles scoffed at that.

“At least he takes care of his pack,” he hissed, and Derek flinched, which satisfied Stiles in a manner he hadn’t thought possible.

“I’m taking care of you, too,” Derek said, and Stiles laughed in his face.

“If you were taking care of me, I would still be pack and you would have warned me about Deuc,” he snapped at Derek.

“You’re calling him Deuc,” Derek whispers and Stiles rolled his eyes.

“Yes, I am,” he gave back. “He’s my friend, after all.”

“Friend?” Derek asked and something in his face suddenly got mean. “Or are you just panting after every alpha who shows you the least bit of kindness?”

Stiles could hear the car door behind him, Peter obviously ready to tear his nephew a new one, but he motioned at him to stay put. He could handle Derek on his own.

“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have ‘panted’ after you, now would I?” he gave back, and Derek blanched, while Stiles only smiled sweetly at him.

“Now if you excuse me, I have to go back to _my_ alpha, who cares for me, and his pack, who welcomed me with open arms. And your uncle, who took better care of me than you ever did, is going to tear your throat out before Deucalion ever gets a chance if you’re not careful.”

With that Stiles turned on his heels and walked back to the car. Peter did get out of the car and Stiles walked right over to him, allowing him to blatantly scent mark Stiles by briefly pressing his face into Stiles’ neck, which he willingly bared for Peter.

“Take me home to Deuc now,” Stiles said as he rubbed his cheek over Peter’s hair and Peter reluctantly pulled away.

“Of course, darling,” he said, and Stiles tried to be mad that Deucalion’s constant endearments rubbed off on Peter, but he couldn’t quite convince himself that he was even bothered by that.

When Stiles walked around to his door, he threw a glance back at Derek, who was watching them with clenched fists.

Stiles was petty enough to hope that this hurt him as much as he had hurt Stiles all those months ago.

In the car Stiles checked his phone again, noticing two more missed calls from Deucalion, and one text message, which he opened.

 _Please come home_ it said and Stiles smiled down at the phone.

He didn’t answer, figuring that it didn’t matter when he would be there a few minutes later and instead he turned to Peter.

“You’re not allowed to kill Derek,” he seriously told him, and Peter groaned.

“If he continues to be stupid, I might do us all a favour,” he gave back and Stiles snorted at that.

“Maybe, but no unprovoked killing,” he said again and then hesitated for a second. “Thank you for letting me handle this on my own.”

“Stiles, you’re more than capable of taking on my nephew,” Peter gave back but reached out and quickly squeezed Stiles’ hand. “Though it would have been my pleasure to hurt him, just a little bit. Break a bone or two,” he then admitted, and Stiles laughed as he squeezed Peter’s hand back.

They didn’t talk until they arrived at Deuc’s place and when they arrived, and Peter made no move to get out of the car with Stiles, he undid the belt buckle for him.

“You’re coming up, too. I’m in the mood for pack cuddles,” Stiles told him, decision already made and not allowing any complaints from Peter.

To his credit Peter got out of the car without a word and he followed closely behind Stiles when he marched over to the elevator.

Deucalion was already waiting for them when they stepped out of it, and Stiles marched right past him, while Peter stopped to murmur something to Deuc, before briefly baring his neck and allowing Deucalion to drag his cheek over it.

When they turned to Stiles he was glaring at them.

“You’re angry,” Deucalion said and the lack of endearment in that statement was almost startling.

“Yes, I am,” Stiles hissed, and Peter quickly vanished into the kitchen. “You could have at least trusted me enough to tell me the truth.”

“I know, darling,” Deucalion said with a sigh and totally took the wind out of Stiles’ sails.

He wasn’t used to people agreeing with him or owning up to their mistakes.

“Then why didn’t you?” he asked, voice suddenly small and Deucalion was there a second later, gathering him up in his arms.

“Because I didn’t want to risk losing you,” he whispered into Stiles’ hair. “And you’re so loyal, I didn’t want to risk fighting against you.”

“They have done nothing to inspire my loyalty,” Stiles said against Deucalion’s shoulder and put his arms around him. “But you cannot lie to me like that again,” he decisively said.

“I won’t. Never again, my dear heart,” Deucalion promised.

Stiles took a deep breath at the endearment and then pushed away from Deucalion, avoiding eye contact and instead looking at his hands, which didn’t seem to be able to let go of Deuc’s shirt.

“Don’t say things like that,” he whispered. “Not if you don’t mean them.”

“Love,” Deucalion started and gently lifted Stiles’ face with a finger under his chin. “If I didn’t mean it, I would never say it,” Deucalion softly told him, and Stiles shivered.

He didn’t quite trust what Deucalion was saying but then Deucalion was leaning forwards and pressed a lingering kiss to his lips before slightly drawing back.

“Okay?” he whispered against Stiles’ lips, who instead of verbally answering him, just pressed closer for another kiss.

“I believe I was promised pack cuddles,” Peter suddenly said from the side, and Stiles quickly pulled away from Deuc and looked over at Peter.

Peter was watching them intently and if Stiles didn’t know better he’d say that he could see want in Peter’s eyes, but before he could try to make sense of that, Peter lifted a bowl of popcorn.

“I’m not here to see you smooch,” he flippantly said as he walked towards the living-room and Deucalion hummed under his breath.

“What?” Stiles wanted to know, and Deucalion pressed a kiss to his temple before he quietly spoke.

“That was a lie.”

Stiles threw a contemplating look after Peter but was distracted when Deucalion pulled him close again.

“Pack cuddles, huh?” Deucalion asked, and Stiles immediately dragged him over to the couch.

“Yeah,” Stiles agreed. “The rest of you can come here, too,” he called out slightly louder and Kali, Ennis and the twins all filed into the living-room, snacks already ready, so clearly it was no surprise to them.

The couch was big, big enough to host all of them and Stiles didn’t hesitate to push Deucalion down in the middle of it before promptly curling up in his lap.

Stiles didn’t much care about the rest of the arrangement, beyond the fact that everyone was there, but he made sure to pull Peter down right next to them, basically forcing him to snuggle into Deucalion’s side when Ennis plopped down next to Peter.

Deucalion didn’t protest, but instead lifted his arm to make more room for Peter, who settled comfortably against Deucalion’s side, while Kali laid down on top of Ennis and the twins curled up at Stiles’ back.

Stiles reached out for Peter, dragging his arm over so that he could cling to it too and then he ordered someone to start the TV.

Curled up like this, warm and protected by his pack, the people he loved and held dear to him, Stiles quickly fell asleep to the feeling of Deucalion pressing kiss after kiss to his hair, while Peter gently entangled their fingers.

It was the best feeling in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Who am I to deny Peter some love and cuddles as well, this will now officially have a second part.


End file.
